Website to answer questions about cancer clusters

Residents looking for information on the incidence of cancer in Carlsbad can now find updated information at a Web page launched by the county Health and Human Services Agency.

The agency has established the site to specifically address concerns raised over the past several months by some Carlsbad residents who are concerned that a cancer cluster might exist in the city.

The residents have cited several cancer deaths and illnesses in recent years, particularly near Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

Visitors to the site can submit their e-mail addresses if they would like to receive frequent updates. People seeking information can also call (619) 515-6620.

“We hope to improve the site in the next few weeks as we provide updated statistics and develop an action plan to address the concerns,” said Deirdre Browner, with Epidemiology and Immunization Services at the agency.

County health officials promised residents at a public forum April 28 that they would look into several issues raised by parents.

The officials said they would gather data on cancer cases since 2007, and look into a community request to test the soil at and around Kelly Elementary School.

Public health officials have reviewed epidemiology data and concluded three times, in 2007, 2008 and this year that no elevated occurrence of cancer cases of any type exists in Carlsbad, compared with other areas of the county.

But some parents, among them John and Stacey Quartarone, whose son died in December from large B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, are pressing county health officials to investigate what’s behind the illnesses.

John Quartarone said he knows of 265 cancer cases linked to the area of Carlsbad where his family lives, near Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer, promised a full assessment of what — if anything unusual — is happening in Carlsbad.

A task force comprised of community members and county staff is gathering more information on cancer cases in Carlsbad and passing on the data to the California Cancer Registry.

The county’s new website includes a presentation given at the forum by Thomas Mack, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and a state cancer expert.

It also includes answers to questions frequently asked about cancer, as well as answers to questions specific to the issue in Carlsbad — some of which the agency is still working on.

County officials have said they will host a follow-up community meeting by late May.